During the week of April Fool's Day, 2002, a very interesting
e-conversation took place on the Mandolin Cafe
discussion boards. Participants in Chicago claimed to have attended
some shows featuring bands playing a new style of music: "tekno
mando" or "space age mando punk." Allegedly, most of
these bands were from Japan, and their shows involved outrageous
costumes, extremely loud rock music fronted by electric mandolins
(preferably Japanese-made Kingston EM1s), and extended jams.
These shows were reportedly "underground" events held in an
abandoned warehouse and advertised by word of mouth, like the
"rave" parties of the early 1990s. The bands eschewed
anything that smacked of publicity and commercialism, preferring an
under-the-radar "guerrilla marketing" approach. Nonetheless,
it was claimed, at least a thousand people attended one of these
shows.
This discussion went on for several days, and
naturally I offered such support as I was able to provide. I took down
the names of the bands and the players and added them to this site. I
made an appeal for photographs and recordings and offered to attend
any shows in the Seattle area if these bands performed here.
And what happened then? Nada. I did
receive one e-mail, via a Yahoo! address, purporting to be from a band
member, but that was all. Meanwhile, one of the contributors to the
aforementioned discussion board claimed that most tekno players
thought this site was "lame." Nonetheless, I and several
other individuals whose interest was piqued by the conversation
attempted to track down the bands who were mentioned. But despite our
efforts, we have never been able to confirm the existence of a single
tekno mando band, although I think the discussion thread may have
caused a temporary spike in demand for secondhand Kingston EM1s. (The
EM1 originally retailed for $49, but it was claimed that young
headbangers were snapping them up at prices of $350–700.) If these
bands really do exist, then they've perfected the art of underground
marketing: They're so far underground that you can't find them even if
you want to.
I should add that I did have a couple of
telephone conversations with another individual posting information
about the bands. I will not name names, but the individual has never
followed through on his promise to send some recordings. Only he knows
for sure whether tekno mando is real or a joke. However, as I have
noted, the discussion did take place around April Fool's Day, and most
of the posts in support of tekno mando came from the same IP address,
although they purported to be from different people. (The discussion
thread itself is long gone; Mandolin Cafe had to move its boards to a
new ISP and its archive was lost in the process.) Having spent a year
and a half in a fruitless search, I now declare myself a confirmed
skeptic. I have removed all mention of tekno bands and players from
elsewhere in the site and dumped it here. If you can supply hard
evidence to confirm that these or any other tekno mando bands exist,
feel free to
. Otherwise, I'm
forced to conclude that tekno mando is nothing more than an
interesting myth in the world of mandolin lore.

The Bands

Rice, Children of the Sun, the Untouchables, Jade Sisters, Bright
White Light, Eight String Express, Motorcross, and Flying Tigers were
some band names mentioned in addition to the ones below. There
actually is a band named Flying Tigers, but it's a conventional
American rock band that has no mandolin player. And anyhow, why would
a Japanese band name itself after a WWII American bomber squadron
famous for its raids on Japan?

The Players

Miko Nakashua
Miko was a Kingston EM1 player described as an outstanding soloist.

Niko TsosumiNiko (go ahead, send her
an e-mail) played with a band called Crimson Dynamo. Here's the text
of the single e-mail message I received that purported to be from
Niko:

"We have no CD yet, but we will have one very soon. Both Sony
and EMI have contacted us. For the last two years we have been on
the underground tekno circuit, playing a few nights in clubs all
over.
"I have two Kingston EM1 solidbody
mandos. Tekno music is dependent on as much sustain as you can get
out of your instrument. The Kingston works well for this because it
has a long scale [15.75 inches], yet still tunes like a mandolin.
"I am using a 100-watt Marshall Plexi
head with two 4x12 cabinets. I have a complete assortment of
effects, including phase shifter, chorus, delay, wah-wah, and a old
Vox tone bender. The other mando player in our band plays a Zurello
8-string with the same amp setup as mine.
"When Crimson Dynamo come to your
town, please come hear us. We make your ears bleed."

And there you have it. I should add
that Crimson Dynamo is also the name of a Marvel comic series. So sue
me.

Annie and Rachel Sabatini
The Sabatini sisters allegedly played Ovation mandolins and fronted a
Chicago band called Daughters of Eve.

Heido Tuki
Another Kingston EM1 player.

Chosei Yamamoto
Yet another EM1 player, leading a band called Flaming Sun.

The Builder

Michael Zurello
I haven't been able to confirm Michael's existence either; the only
place I've heard about him is in connection with tekno mando. Based in
Milan, Italy, Mike allegedly made 8-string instruments that resemble
Gibson's Explorer with reverse "V" headstocks, as well as
teardrop-style 8-strings, and had built mandolins for George Harrison and Jimmy Page.